After a storm comes a calm
by Vickysg1
Summary: They tend to their wounds, they grieve, they say goodbye and they move on. Part Five in my 'Through the Years' series.


Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.  
Author's Note: Written for my Sparktober Bingo Card #5 "The Siege". I had intended to complete my Bingo Card this year, but I didn't count on my mind being completely taken over by the awesomeness of _Leverage_. So yeah, sorry, you only get one fic. I think I'll just complete my Bingo Card next year. ;) Follows up the fics I've started to write last year for the same Bingo Card and that you can find here.

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The last few days had been trying for the expedition. The attack from the Wraith, while expected, had taken all of them by surprise with its intensity. If it wasn't for the team sent from Earth, and later for the Daedalus, they would have lost their City. They lost good people during the attack, including Aiden Ford, and no one doubted that the senior staff took this particular loss harder than the others.

Elizabeth hadn't seen John since he had left the Gateroom a couple of hours earlier, but she wasn't surprised. He needed time alone to deal with the fact that he had failed one of his men, one of his teammates, in more ways than one.

She found him standing before Ford's quarters, his back resting against the wall. The only indication she had to know that he didn't come straight here was that his vest and weapons were gone.

He didn't acknowledge her when she stopped beside him, but she didn't expect him to. She mimicked her position, and stood beside him, looking at the closed door before them. She didn't speak at first, hoping that he would make the first step, but when it was obvious that he would stay silent, she turned her head slightly to look at his face.

"We'll find him, John."

"You can't promise that."

"No. But I know that you won't stop looking until you find him or you have proof that he's dead. I know you, John."

He didn't say anything to it, but she knew that her words had struck a chord. She knew him enough by now to read his face, and she could see the determination written there; he wouldn't give up, not when there was still a chance to bring him back.

"So what now?" he asked, turning towards her.

"Now, we tend to our wounds, we grieve for those we lost, we say goodbye to them, and we go on. Because we have to."

"I was actually thinking more literally. What do we do, _now_?"

She smiled in spite of herself, and when she saw the small smile on his lips, she knew that it had been his intent; even if he was hurting inside, he wanted to make her feel better.

"We can go grab a bite in the mess hall," she offered. "I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time something other than coffee passed through my lips. And now that I think about it, I'm quite hungry," she said, hoping that her stomach wouldn't rebel and let out a growl.

"I could kill for a turkey sandwich," John replied with a nod. "Do you think they still have some of that moonshine the Athosians gave us?"

"Well, I don't know about the mess hall, but I have an unopened bottle in my quarters. Now would be a good time to open it, I guess."

"I like the way you think. Let's go get our dinner, lunch or whatever meal we're supposed to be eating right now, and go back to your quarters."

"Did I invite you without knowing?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Funny," he said, walking with her to the nearest transporter. "Should we invite Rodney and Teyla?" he asked as an afterthought, feeling a little guilty to not have thought of his teammates earlier.

"Teyla just told me that she wished to spend some time with her people, to mourn their losses in the attack. And I know for a fact that Rodney will sleep for the next 24 hours," she added, trying to lighten up the mood.

"That does sound like him. It's just the two of us, then. Promise me one thing, though: we won't talk about work. For the next couple of hours, let's forget everything that has happened, everything we still need to do, and just relax."

"I'd like that," she agreed. "One last thing. Don't ever do this again," she said, and they both knew what she was talking about. "If there's one thing I have learned in this past year, it's that I probably wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for you."

"I'll try."

They shared a smile; they knew that he couldn't make such a promise, and she wasn't asking him to. They had learned to live their lives day by day in the Pegasus Galaxy, and they would continue to do so, even now that they had re-established contact with Earth.

"I really hope the Wraith didn't get to your bottle before us," he said, making her smile brightly as the doors of the transporter closed.

As it turned out, they didn't; the bottle was where Elizabeth had put it when it was offered to her, untouched. She handed it to John who opened it while she grabbed two mugs. He poured them each a drink, before putting the bottle down on the desk. He took his glass from Elizabeth with a smile.

"To Atlantis," she said, raising her glass.

"To Atlantis."

With these two words, they paid their respect to those who sacrificed their lives for the City, and those who continued to protect it from their enemies.

They took a sip of their drinks, their eyes locked, until Elizabeth looked away and towards the large window. Outside, the night sky was becoming clearer; soon the sun would rise. They had lived to see another day. Even though the attack in itself had lasted only a few days, it felt like they had been fighting for much longer than that. It almost felt like they had been under siege since they had first arrived in this galaxy.

"Penny for your thoughts?" John asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"I'm not sure they're worth that much," she replied with a small smile. "This isn't what I signed up for," she admitted. "I'm not a military commander, John. I'm a civilian, I'm a diplomat, but I'm not a strategist."

"This is what you have me for, Elizabeth. Just like you have Rodney for scientific matters, you have me when it comes to fighting our enemies. And even if I'm not your military commander anymore, you can still count on me."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, turning back towards him.

"Come on, Elizabeth. You and I both know that we'll soon have to go to Earth to report of the situation we're facing here, and that I won't come back as military commander. They're going to appoint someone they think is better suited for this job."

"I… I didn't think…"

"I know. But now that we can contact Earth again, things are going to be different. This is just one of many we will have to get used to."

"I know. But I don't want that to change, and I'll do my best to keep you as the military commander."

"Elizabeth…," he tried to speak, but she held up her free hand to interrupt him.

"No. They don't know what we've been facing these past few months. They will have to understand that you're the best military commander this City can get. You know what's out there waiting for us. And if they don't want to listen to me, well, President Hayes trusts my judgment."

John knew that he couldn't say anything to change her mind; he heard the determination in her voice. He was proud to count a woman such as Elizabeth as one of his friends, though he still wasn't sure of what he did to have her.

"We're going back to Earth," Elizabeth said, the reality of it finally sinking in.

"Yeah. But we'll come home."

Fin


End file.
